Digital Disruption

In welcoming 91 countries to Durban, Ramaphosa has stressed the importance of bridging the digital divide to create an inclusive society. This builds on the theme of Nelson Mandela’s speech at Africa’s first ITU in Geneva during 1995 when he said that telecommunications can help developing countries become “information rich”. Ramaphosa also hopes that the…

The advertising industry is grappling with disruptive forces and I was privileged to spend some time at GREY South Africa recently, talking about the technologies behind some key trends. The so-called fourth industrial revolution has seen the rise of cyber-physical systems like Tilley Lockey’s new bionc arm and a host of new capabilities that are…

The future of banking is lightweight and automated on the inside, helpful and digital on the outside. The South African banking sector has consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world. It employs over 150 000 people, provides a backbone of financing and money management solutions and helps drive inclusion and access to the formal…

“I was furious, ripped out of my state of deep concentration at a key moment in the game”. This is how Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov described his response when computer chess program Deep Blue crashed and had to be restarted during game four of their first encounter in 1996. This game was also the first…

This article is an excerpt from a white paper co-authored by Peter Alkema and Dr Jeff Yu-Chen from Gibs University. In this white paper, you will gain valuable insights about Blockchain and bitcoin; how it works and why it is a threat Customer-centric design thinking and why banks need it The rise of digital customers,…

This article is an excerpt from a white paper co-authored by Peter Alkema and Dr Jeff Yu-Chen from Gibs University. The most impactful breakthrough disruptions Blockchain is probably one of the most impactful breakthrough disruptions in recent years. Anchored on the distributed ledger algorithm that enables peer-to- peer money transactions without a third party such…

This article is an excerpt from a white paper co-authored by Peter Alkema and Dr Jeff Yu-Chen from Gibs University. Customers are increasingly relying on various smart technologies in daily life. Younger customers in most countries continue to make use of mobile devices more frequently for their banking transactions than any other forms of banking.…

This article is an excerpt from a white paper co-authored by Peter Alkema and Dr Jeff Yu-Chen from Gibs University. Customers are increasingly relying on various smart technologies in daily life – Part 2 Read Part 1 Ubiquitous banking also requires taking customers’ behaviour as the focal point and designing services accordingly. Investments in big…

This article is an excerpt from a white paper co-authored by Peter Alkema and Dr Jeff Yu-Chen from Gibs University. Innovation is an imperative for banks operating in the emerging market The pressure of new market entrants and the billions of currently unbanked potential customers require entirely new ways of doing business. Some banks are…

This article is an excerpt from a white paper co-authored by Peter Alkema and Dr Jeff Yu-Chen from Gibs University. The “network effect” is what helps achieve such pace: The more customers join, the more it creates compound benefits for existing users. Facebook’s early growth was deceptive, but when it started doubling large numbers they…